Mini Graham Cracker House Kit

Directions

Royal Icing: Beat icing sugar, water and meringue powder in large bowl for about 1 minute until stiff peaks form. Spoon into 2 resealable freezer bags with tiny piece snipped off corner, or into 2 paper cones (page 27). Set 1 bag aside until needed.

House Pieces

Base And Side Walls: Lay 6 crackers right-side up on work surface, with edges touching, to make a rectangle 3 crackers long and 2 crackers wide. Pipe icing between crackers. Gently press edges together. Let stand until set (Royal Icing will harden quickly). Repeat twice, for a total of 1 base and 2 side walls.

End Walls: Lay 4 crackers right-side up on work surface, with edges touching, to make a square. Pipe icing between crackers. Gently press edges together. Let stand until set. Repeat, for a total of 2 end walls.

Gables: Cut 1 cracker in half diagonally. Lay halves right-side up on work surface, with short edges touching, to make 1 large triangle. Pipe icing between halves. Gently press edges together. Let stand until set. Repeat, for a total of 2 gables.

Lay long side of 1 gable along 1 edge of end wall, right-side up on work surface, with edges touching. Pipe icing between aligned edges and gently press together to attach end wall to gable. Repeat, for a total of 2 end walls.

Roof: Lay 4 crackers right-side up on work surface, with edges touching, to make a long rectangle. Pipe icing between crackers. Gently press edges together. Let stand until set. Repeat 3 times, for a total of 4 roof rectangles.

House Assembly

Place base of house on work surface, right-side down. Pipe icing on base along all 4 sides near edge. Pipe dabs of icing along centre of base. Position base, icing-side down, on top of cake board. Press gently to secure. Let stand until set.

Pipe icing along outside edges of base on 1 long side and 1 short side. Place 1 side wall, right-side facing out, against long edge with icing. Press gently. Place 1 end wall, right-side facing out, against short edge with icing. Press gently. Hold both walls in place for 1 to 2 minutes until secure. Repeat with icing and remaining walls. Pipe icing along edges where walls meet. Gently press together to secure. Let stand until set.

Pipe 2 lines of icing down length of 1 right-side up roof rectangle, about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Place second rectangle right-side up on top of icing, overlapping 1/2 inch (12 mm). Set aside. Repeat with remaining roof rectangles, for a total of 2 roof pieces.

Pipe icing along 4 sloped edges of gables on end walls and along top edge of 2 side walls. Place roof pieces, right-sides facing out, on each sloped edge to form pitched roof, making sure pieces join at the peak. Hold in place for 1 to 2 minutes until secure. Carefully pipe icing at peak where roof pieces meet. Gently press together to secure. Let stand until set.

Working with door and window pieces 1 at a time, pipe some icing on wrong-side of each piece. Press onto house where desired. Hold each piece in place for 1 to 2 minutes until secure. Let stand until set.

Decorate house as desired, piping icing onto candies and gently pressing onto house. To create shingles, attach sugar-coated jelly candies, square chocolate mints or cereal squares to roof in overlapping rows using icing. Decorate cake board as desired to make a yard around house (see picture for more ideas). Let stand overnight until completely set.

Note: Meringue powder can be purchased at specialty kitchen stores or where cake decorating supplies are sold.

Recipe reprinted from Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen © Company's Coming Publishing Limited

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